Beau is such an active kiddo. Trying to get him to sit down and actually play with a toy is hard. It tends to go more like pick-up the toy, throw the toy, chase the toy, climb with the toy in hand, try to give the toy to the dog, dance with the toy. The kid loves to move. This year we are focusing on things that will keep our active little boy delighted!

Traditionally we do family gifts on Christmas Eve and of course Santa Gifts and stockings on Christmas Day. I am following two basic models for my gifting. On Christmas Eve we will do a something to wear, something he needs, something he wants, and something for him to experience. Christmas Day, we ask Santa to bring three gifts just as the three wise men did. We ask for one larger/nicer gift (that’s the gold), and two smaller gifts (representing the frankincense and myrrh).

Janie and Jack is my go to for nice outfits. They are pricey but great for special occasions and can be found on sale often. Sweater / Button-Up Shirt / Pants

Beau is in need of a table and chair that he can sit at for meal times, crafting, and playing. This set from Pottery Barn is adorable! Table and Chair Set

Peaches, this week is the Global Big Latch On. A week that honors and supports breastfeeding and pumping mothers that ends with public breastfeeding events around the world. Check out the link to learn more.

In honor of this week I am posting some of my favorite nursing and pumping products. I am still nursing a year later and I truly wondered if I would get this far. We had a horrible time with latches, and milk supply, and pain that made me question if it was possible for us. Now it’s fairly easy and I love it so much. Although pumping is not my favorite I still do that as well.

Without further ado, here are some of my favorite products. These are things I have used on an almost daily basis since I started breastfeeding.

Nylon Spaghetti Strap Cami Top– I have used these pretty much every day since I discovered them. Simply wear them under any shirt and when it’s time, pull your top layer up and your bottom layer down and boom! Nursing without getting a cold draft! Also bonus because they are cheap, comfortable, and stretchy.

Vera Bradley Grand Traveler Bag – This is my “pumping bag”. I picked a corporate friendly style and loaded it down with my pumping necessities. It was absolutely necessary for me and has held up beautifully with not even so much as a loose thread so far!

Philips Avent Double Electric Breast Pump – This thing worked better than my Medela. The cups have a silicone cushion and you don’t need to sit stick straight for it to work. Unfortunately it was not covered by my insurance but I went ahead and sprang for it after my sister in law raved about it. The only downside to this pump is it can be hard (but not impossible) to find all the extra parts.

Gerber Flatfold Cloth Diapers – These things will shock you. They are thin and you may wonder how they could every be used as diapers. But, they are great for burp cloths and cleaning up after pumping. They also work great as a space filler in your cooler to keep your milk upright.

PackIt Freezable Lunch Bag with Zip Closure – This was the best I could find for my Dr. Brown’s Bottles. You stick the whole lunch bag in the freezer and it has ice packs built in. You cannot add ice to this without it leaking and you will need to wedge it somewhere so it doesn’t fall over in the car. This was great for back and forth to work but I would recommend a ziplock with ice for any long errands. Bonus: The company who makes this also makes the same things for wine bottles!

There are some other things I loved but I’d call this the starter kit. I hope you find these as useful as I did. What are some of your favorite items?

Recently, LittleThings.com emailed DH to ask permission to share our gender reveal video. I thought I’d share it here for y’all with some more information.

When we moved to Utah we didn’t know anyone. Being the party planner that I am I was rather disappointed we couldn’t make our big announcement into an excuse for crafting, and debauchery without feeling a little guilty that our closest friends and family (which has now grown to include our Utah friends) still remained in other places. That’s when my fun-loving husband got an idea to do a video! It would allow those closest to us in on the fun while we got to have some fun ourselves. He started recruiting new friends and learned how to work a video editor and all I had to do was participate. We also debated on using the term sex vs gender reveal but decided “sex reveal” probably would get some raised eyebrows or the wrong viewership. We had to do several takes because we were a little awkward in front of the camera and our dog also was getting quite excited towards the beginning (she could sense big news was coming, I guess).

All in all it was such a fun alternative to the party and something I would recommend because we got to capture it all on video!

So, now, I will link you to both the LittleThings.com post and the straight link to the video. I hope y’all enjoy it. Also, in the comment below, let us know what you did to reveal the sex of your baby?